'Rhyme' Key Metropolitan Chairman's Close Associate Repatriated

Interpol Red Notice Fugitive Jeong Mo Sent Back on the 22nd

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] A close associate of Kim Young-hong, chairman of Metropolitan and a key figure in the Lime Asset Management (Lime) case who was on the run, was apprehended overseas and repatriated on the 22nd.

According to the legal community, Jeong, who was on Interpol's red notice, was arrested around the 8th of this month in the Philippines and detained in a foreign detention center. After completing the paperwork for repatriation to Korea, he arrived at Incheon International Airport at 5:39 PM on the same day.

Jeong remained silent when reporters asked about Chairman Kim’s whereabouts and their relationship. Immediately after arriving at the airport, he was transported by a prosecution escort vehicle.

Jeong, who is the representative of a casino in the Philippines, is suspected of supporting overseas escape funds by distributing profits to Chairman Kim, the actual owner of the casino. This casino is known to have operated as a kind of remote gambling site called an "avatar casino," which broadcasts gambling scenes domestically. Jeong is charged with opening a gambling space and pocketing profits amounting to around 70 billion KRW.

Earlier, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office had suspended prosecution of Jeong and Chairman Kim, who had fled abroad, in November last year. Meanwhile, Metropolitan, a real estate development company, received about 300 billion KRW in investment from Lime, and Chairman Kim is accused of embezzling a significant portion of the funds.

Currently on trial, former Star Mobility chairman Kim Bong-hyun has identified Chairman Kim and others as key figures in the Lime case, which caused a redemption suspension crisis involving approximately 1.6 trillion KRW.